


Blonde Streak

by IcyPassions



Series: Vignettes [2]
Category: Formula 1 RPF
Genre: Crying, Fluff, Gen, Hair, Humiliation, Nervousness, Self Confidence Issues, nervous Carlos, protective lando
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-22
Updated: 2020-03-22
Packaged: 2021-02-28 20:09:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23263000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IcyPassions/pseuds/IcyPassions
Summary: What if Carlos's blonde streak from Kym Illman's AusGP photo was real? Here's my fluffy interpretation.
Series: Vignettes [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1650694
Comments: 2
Kudos: 20





	Blonde Streak

**Author's Note:**

> This is pretty trash ngl, but it's the best idea I've had in weeks and I need to feel like I'm doing something productive
> 
> This work is entirely of fiction. Please don't share it outside of fanfiction circles!

The hotel room door clicks shut as Carlos drops a plastic grocery bag on the bathroom counter. He reaches in and extracts its contents. He’s nervous of all things, which he isn’t proud of. For any ordinary mortal, strapping into a land rocket for two hours would certainly be cause, but that task never fazes Carlos. Instead, it’s the bottle he now clutches in his hand and its label that his eyes skim over.

“Ay, mierda…”

He sets the bottle back down and heaves out a heavy breath. It seemed like a good idea all the way up until now, and he’d made the mistake of telling Lando his plan so backing out isn’t an option any longer lest he look a fool. Not that Lando would bully him about it or anything; the brit was rather gently supportive of his senior teammate when he explained his idea. But it hardly made the proposition any less nervewracking.

After staring at the bottle again for a few minutes longer, Carlos forcefully makes up his mind and decides to throw caution to the wind. In prospect, this is hardly the biggest risk he’s taken, objectively speaking. He locks the bathroom door beside him and dumps out the rest of the supplies onto the counter, rolls up his sleeves, and sets to work.

~~

After nearly an hour, he’s finally finished. He slowly removes the clips holding up the particular portion of hair and watches as it falls perfectly into place on the side of his head. He can’t suppress a nervous smile creeping on, it looks _incredible_ , it’s just so _him_ , but he still worries about what the paddock will think. He’s always been one of the most attractive gentlemen around and he hopes they don’t see this as a downgrade.

The blonde streak on his right side runs from the front of his hair to the crown of his head, an inch wide or so. It’s bold, it goes against the grain, physically and metaphorically. It contrasts greatly with the rest of his dark chocolate mane. It’s exactly how he wanted it.

~~

Carlos wakes the next morning and the first thing he tends to is his hair. He spends a bit longer on it than usual, making sure the streak is perfect for a good first impression. After finishing that and the remainder of his routine, he shoots Lando a text.

_C: Meet me in the hotel lobby. I did it! :)_

_L: omggg yes! Seeya in 5_

He decides to put his hood up for a grand reveal, grabs his bag, and steps out into the hall.

Carlos is the first down, but just barely. He turns to see Lando pop out the elevator with his trademark smile. “Morning!”

“Buenos dias, Lando. Are you ready?”

“Absolutely, let’s see it!”

Carlos slowly pulls back his hood to reveal his hair. Lando’s eyes lock onto it and his hand snaps to his mouth when he sees the new addition, eyes wide. “Carlos… wow that’s amazing!” he nearly shouts.

“Shh, cabron. I have only shown you, no one else even knows. Keep it down a little.”

“Sorry” Lando sheepishly nods. Carlos replaces the hood with a sly grin. “Come, the car is waiting.”

~~

Although they aren’t allowed to get close to the fans because of the outbreak, the two McLaren boys can still sign some autographs, and that’s exactly what they’re up to. Carlos keeps his hood up, still nervous about the streak. Still, one eagle-eyed fan he comes upon spies it underneath. “Did you do something to your hair?” she questions.

“Well, yes.”

“Can we see it?”

He ponders the proposition for a moment. “Ok, sure. Just for you guys, though.”

Carlos gulps and lifts his now shaking hand to his hood. He yanks it back to reveal his new addition in all its glory, and the fans surrounding him react animatedly, with a smattering of gasps and wows. The girl who originally saw it is the first to speak up. “Hey, that looks great!” Some others surrounding her nod and smile in agreement, and it makes Carlos’s heart flutter with pride. He smiles back, returning a “thank you”, and his nervous demeanor is instantly erased. That is until he hears a younger man to his right.

“Oi, the fuck’s that hair all about mate?” The men around him chuckle as they gawk at Carlos. Another one pipes up, “You run under a rattle can, huh?” More laughter.

Carlos pulls his hood back up and walks back the other direction, his face hot and tears welling. He spots Lando on the line and speedwalks over to him, head kept low. Unable to speak without sounding gross, he resorts to just tapping his shoulder. The younger turns and sees the state of his teammate, instantly catching on. “Oh, Carlos… did someone…”

“Yes” he manages to eek out.

“Here, let’s go back to the hospitality.”

They walk briskly together back to Carlos’s room, Lando by Carlos’s side all the way, ready to punch anyone else that dares insult his teammate.

As soon as they step in and shut the door, Carlos bursts. “I knew this was a mistake, Lando I knew it!” He brings his palms to his eyes and collapses onto the couch. Lando draws him into a big hug from his side. “Carlos, you can’t listen to those people. This is all about you. If you like it, that’s all that matters.”

The Spaniard leans into Lando, turning his head into his shoulder and hugging him back. They stay like that for a while, Lando running his hand up and down Carlos’s back as the latter slowly calms himself.

Eventually, Carlos lifts his head and wipes his eyes. There’s a knock at the door, and Lando stands to open it. Charlotte is there, and she asks “why did you guys come back? We still had 10 minutes left.”

“Umm…” Lando scrambles to find a proper excuse in his head until Carlos perks up. “I… had an issue on the line. With some rude fans.”

“Oh no, what did they say?”

Carlos draws a deep breath. “They… didn’t like what I did to my hair.”

“Well, what did you do to it?” Charlotte wonders.

Carlos pulls his hood off again and turns to face Charlotte. A smile lights up on her face. “Oh, Carlos that’s excellent! Shame they can’t see that. I’m sorry you had that happen, you’re ok to stay here.”

The boys give a “thank you” in unison and Lando shuts the door. He sits back down next to Carlos and squeezes him super hard, earning a grunt from his teammate. “I’m really proud of you for doing this, just know that, ok? Like, I could never do that. You’re amazing, you just have to not listen to the haters.”

“Ok, cabron” Carlos resigns. He returns his head to Lando’s shoulder, and Lando begins carding his fingers through his teammate’s hair. “Hey, be careful with my streak!” the older says, which earns a giggle from both of them.

~~

Later that evening, Carlos is scrolling through Instagram while he waits for the car to take himself and Lando back to the hotel. The rest of the day had gone well enough, despite a few strange looks and laughs which had been overwhelmed by the positive responses he’d gotten from the majority. He comes upon a post from Kym Illman in his feed which is a photo of him during the photographer’s shoot. His streak is clearly visible and he tenses up, nervously tapping on the comments section to see what people of the internet thought. To his great relief, all he can see is heart eyes emojis and loving comments. He can’t help but smile and hold his head a little higher as the car pulls up next to them.


End file.
